We kicked the grass under our feet and we ran.

　The trees in the forest were thick and the surrounding area was a little dimmer, blocking out the sun's rays.

(!)　(There it is!)

　As I continued to run, I saw a figure lying on the ground in my vision.

　There are two of them.

　Their armor was crumpled, and red-black blood was spreading on the ground.

''Are you alright!''

　I was going to come over to you.

Wait!

　gasp

　I was stopped in my tracks when Mr. Kilt collided with an arm stretched out to his side.

(Huh?)

　In front of me, who looked up at me unconsciously, Mr. Kilt pointed his 'Great Sword of Thunder' at the large tree growing right beside him.

　Ta-da!

　Illtimina-san holds the white spear and Poe holds his fist.

　I, too, immediately drew my 'fairy sword'.

　Solstice also holds up her large staff.

"..........

　A strange, sticky 'pressure' was born from it.

(U...............!)

　Like a shimmer, it appeared.

　Without a sound, a black demon, nearly three meters in length, slowly walked out from behind the tree.

　The figure resembled an ape.

　It was wrapped in black fur and had human-like limbs.

　Its arms were strangely long.

　And the face.

...human face.

　It was distorted, but it resembled that of a human.

　Gawking eyes stared at us.

　In the hands of that black demon, one adventurer was being held by the neck and bound.

(This guy, these people!

　I run my eyes over the fallen people for a moment.

　Nitaari.

!

　As if it had read my expression, the demon laughed eerily.

　This guy.........!

　A scare runs down my spine.

　Jack.

　Kilt-san held the 'Great Sword of Thunder' at the upper level.

　Then, that black demon thrust out the body of the adventurer in his hand towards us.

　''Mekikic!''

　Thick fingers tighten their grip on the neck they're holding.

(He's using it as a shield........)

　He's been holding that adventurer hostage to keep us in check.

　What a dick.

"...hmmm?

　Mr. Kilt snorted and slowly dropped back.

　Then he released the stance of his great sword.

'Irna,'

　A sharp voice.

'I leave this place to you. Lead the fight instead of the straw.

(Huh?)

　Without a second thought, everyone looked at Kilt-san.

　Illtimina-san quickly returned her gaze to the demon.

　With her spear at the ready.

Who are you?
I'm leaving. I just wanted to check a few things.

　Mr. Kilt's answer is unassuming.

　Ms. Illtimina exhales heavily.

'I understand.'

　He nodded his approval.　

'Please.'

　When Kirt-san said that, he stepped backwards with a thump and ran straight into the trees of the forest.

(Yeah, yeah...?)

　Me and Solstice are confused.

　But

"Trust your quilt.
..........
..........

　With that one word, we were prepared to do the same.

　Once again, we focused our nerves on the demon.

　The black demon was looking at Kirt-san, who had disappeared, somewhat curiously.

''Huh........''

　Iltimina's quiet breath.

　Peen.

　The air in the place felt the air tighten in serenity.

　At the same time, the black demon's gaze turned to the beautiful human woman who was holding a white spear.　

　Its lips opened.

Sol, you have to tend to our wounded. Po will be in charge of guarding Sol while he's healing.
Okay.
Poe knows.

　Instructions fly.

　And.

"Merle.

　Me too.

"You are to join me in defeating this monster. We don't need to defeat it. Our priority is to find that adventurer.
Yeah, okay.

　I nodded widely.

'I'll take the lead. Merle will follow.

　Illtimina said, and lowered her posture, keeping her white spear at the ready.

　And.

I'm coming!

　A dignified and sharp voice.

　In a moment, Illtimina-san's figure suddenly disappears.

　At the same time, I believed her and was attacking the black demon in front of me with all my might.


　◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇.


　When I noticed, Illtimina-san's figure was directly above the black demon.

''Shhhh!''

　From there, a white spear is brought out as a light.

　Kyubot.

Gyor?

　The black demon twisted its upper body with tremendous speed.

　The spear blade slashed a few of its black hairs away.

(!?!)

　You dodged a bullet!

　It was a tremendously fast Illtimina-san's strong attack, but the black demon had dodged it.　　

　I can't believe it.

(But!)

Hi!

　I swing the 'fairy sword' at the black demon who is in an impossible position.

　Huoosh!

　The sword hits the arm that is holding the adventurer.

''Geez!

　Purple blood splattered and long fingers opened, freeing the bound adventurer.

(Yes!)

　Oh, gosh.

　The adventurer fell to the ground, conscious, and coughed, holding his throat.

　I tugged on its arm.

'This way!'

　in one go

　The adventurer stumbles and struggles to follow me.

'Cure ack!'

　The black demon screamed in anger and tried to chase us.

　But.

I won't let you go.

　Illtimina-san appeared between us with the speed of an instantaneous movement.

　Kyubobobob.

　A series of white spear thrusts.

''Kiiiiiiiiight.''

　The black demon stops suddenly and dodges it.

　And.

(You're dodging this one too!)

　That black demon has incredible physical abilities.

　Thump!

　With a leap, kicking the trees, the black demon dropped backwards at once.

''..........''

　Illtimina-san also looks surprised.

　She immediately tightens her expression and re-positions her white spear.

　In the meantime, Solstice seems to have finished healing the first one.

''Next, I'll heal you!
Yes, sir.

　Po-chan drags the second one along.

　Immediately, the magic stone of the great wand glows green and the recovery magic is activated.

　Please, Solstice.

　I also headed towards her, lending my shoulder to the adventurer who was with me.

　And.

Qoa!
Shh!

　The black demon and the white spear beauty collide again.

　Both of them are tremendously fast.

　Illtimina-san sets up in the third dimension from low altitude or from above by kicking tree trunks.

　In contrast, the black demon, with its fearsome physical ability, dodges the white spear while swinging its long arms in the opposite direction, trying to catch Illtimina-san's body.

　Gosh, Mekhi.

!

　A hand that failed to grab him hit the trunk of the tree and easily tore the trunk off.

　It was like shredding a piece of bread.

(What a grip!)

　If they grab you, they could easily crush your hands and feet.

　If it's the head or the body........

　The power of this is enough to send my heart into a tizzy.

　Even so, Illtimina-san is not distracted and continues to accurately draw out her spear while moving at tremendous speed.

　Ding!

　The black demon's hand flicks the spear.

　That palm, the flesh of that hand, is as hard as a stone.

(Does that thing play the blade too?)

　Formidable.

　Her tremendous physical abilities and terrifying attack power.

She's evenly matched with the "Golden Mark Demon Hunter", Illtimina-san.

　This is...

(This is the demon of the Dark Continent........!

　The sheer awesomeness of it makes me shiver.

　And.

'Merle!　Hurry up and bring that man back too!

　I heard Solstice's voice.

　We're done with the second one.

(Good.)

　I also hurriedly tried to carry the adventurer who was lending me a shoulder to the girl.

　Then.

No.

　Poe muttered and suddenly started running this way.

(Huh?)

　He slips past us and shakes his fist.

　Battin'

　Right behind me, I heard something crumble.

(.........a stone?)

　When I looked, I saw that the black demon was in a stance where it had thrown something at me.

''Tsk........''

　The human face spills his tongue in a strangely human-like motion.

'Excuse me, Marle, Poe!

　Iltimina-san's apology.

　U, wah.........

　I can't believe she even attacked us, taking advantage of Illtimina-san's gap.

(That black demon, how much is it really........?

　With my mind filled with dismay and astonishment, I managed to carry the adventurer down to Solstice.

''Please take care of the rest,''
I'm on it.

　Solstice nods dependably.

　He immediately begins to heal me with his recovery magic.

　And.

How dare you, Merle!

　Iltimina-san is angry at me for being attacked, and she is attacking me more harshly than ever before.

　Gah, chuin, gakiin.

　The tremendous attack destroys the surrounding forest as well.

(.........Should we go join them?)

　No, trying to mix in with that movement will only slow us down.

　Let's work with Poe to protect Solstice and the healed adventurers.

　I decide to do so.

　As I continue to pray and watch over them.

Ha!

　zakyuu

　Finally, Illtimina-san's white spear pierced into the black demon's abdomen.

(Yes!)

　I applaud in my mind.

　The black demon yods backwards, holding its wounds.

　Illtimina-san sets up a chase.

　And at that moment, the black demon's human face opened its mouth to an impossible size.

''!''

　Gobaaan.

　A jet of black fire!

　It was like a dragon, spewing out black flames.

　Illtimina-san reflexively stabbed her spear into the ground and evaded it into the sky like a pole vault.

　She's also amazing at dodging attacks at that close range!

　But in that moment.

"Gjoaah!

　The black demon attacked not at Illtimina-san, but at us, the children.

(Wha!?!)

　It's for me!

　The huge demon is coming in a straight line, and I hold my "fairy sword" at the top of the line.


　◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇.


Calm down, Merle!

　I can see your movements.

　You match your opponent and unleash a counter-sword technique.

　Breathe and focus your mind.

"Gah!

　With a sharp cry, a black left hand was thrust out.

　Fast!

(But I can fit it in!)

　I trusted myself, let my left foot take a big step forward, and then swung the 'fairy sword' off the top step.

''Hey!''

　Hu-Con

　My shot expertly severed his left hand from near his wrist.

　Good!

　It wasn't long before I thought that.

(Ah.....)

　It was as if he had anticipated it, the black demon's right hand was closing in on him.

　Time-delayed attack.

　I had just unleashed an attack and was unable to intercept it.

''Marl!''

　I can hear Iltimina's distressed voice.

　Poe, who is beside me, can't make it either.

　In my strangely slow-motion vision, I could clearly see the terrifying grip that easily tore off even the tree trunks and wrapped my neck tightly around it.

　I'm going to get beaten - I thought.

　But in that moment.

　

　The magic stone in the 'Silver White Palm Armor' on my left arm emitted a light.

　It shot out from there, the 'Silver White Wolf' caught the black demon's wrist and pulled it away from my neck.

''Spirit!''

　At the same time as my cry, the beautiful spirit beast swings the black demon and slams it to the ground.

　Dotaaan.

"Gogah!

　The ground cracked and vomit of blood splattered from the mouth of the human-faced monkey.

　To his shoulder, the sharp claws of the 'White Silver Wolf' were thrust into his shoulder, stitching the entire ground together.

(!)

　Spirit's red eyes looked at me.

　I nodded and held the 'Fairy Sword' high and up.

''Hey!''

　hiccup

　The blade he swung off severed the black demon's head.

　Fresh purple blood flowed from the wound like a fountain.

　The black demon's huge body was bouncing around, but eventually its movements also disappeared.

　And then.

　Gigi, Jigaaaah.

The White Silver Spiritual Beast witnessed it and howled majestically.

　I, too, let out a big breath.

''Merle, that was brilliant!''

　Illtimina-san ran up to me and hugged my little body.

(Wow....)

　I hugged her beloved body back, a little embarrassed.


　◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇.


　Spirit also returned to the 'Silver White Armor' and we once again looked at the black demon's corpse.

　The Demon of the Dark Continent........

　It was a stronger enemy than we had imagined.

　And.

You guys saved my life. Thanks.

　The adventurer who was being held by the black demon thanked me for that.

　The other two seemed to still be unconscious.

'No, I'm glad you're okay.'

　I laughed.

　Seeing that, the adventurer laughed too.

　But he quickly tightened his expression.

But don't let your guard down just yet.

(Huh?)

There were three demons on the ground when we were attacked. I'm sure there are two more lurking around somewhere.

　Two more!

　We were astonished and hurriedly readied our weapons and looked around.

　..................

　As far as we can see, there are no figures.

When we were attacked, only one of them showed up first, and while we were distracted by that one, we were taken by surprise by the other two.
..........
..........
..........
..........

　If that's true, then there's considerable intelligence.

　Then it's still somewhere nearby - that's when I thought about it.

　Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump.

　Behind the trees in the forest, a blue thunderbolt scattered.

(That's....)

"Mr. Kilt's Thunderbolt Slayer?

　We look at each other.

　Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

　A few trees in the forest fall down near where the lightning flashes have dissipated.

　The dust comes across the forest.

　...................

　We held our weapons in that direction and waited.

　Eventually.

I'm back.

　From behind the dust, a silver-haired beauty appeared from behind the dust, holding a black armor and a black great sword in her hand.

''Miss Kilt!''
"Quilts.

　We couldn't help but run over.

　Then we noticed.

　The purple demon's return blood is splattered on Kilt-san's black armor.

(.........could it be?)

　She looked up at us and said.

"There's a couple of things waiting for you in the woods over there," she said. I hunted them down first.

　It's a natural tone of voice.

　Sa, as expected of you, Kilt-san.

　When I actually went there, I found two black demon corpses lying on the ground, burned by lightning, on the ground.

　Great......

　To defeat two of the demons that we had so much trouble with, against two of them.

"Because we were able to catch them off guard.

　And Mr. Kilt.

　But.

How did you know there were other demons out there?

　I asked curiously.

　Mr. Kilt nodded and said, "Mm.

'Because he seemed to be quite intelligent. And when I looked at the soldiers' reinforcements, they seemed to have a strange sense of composure. The faces were easy to read, but they looked like they were planning something. That's why I was thinking about the possibility of an ambush army.
"Huh?
Well, there are a number of demons that use such tricks. It's just a hunch that comes from experience.

　I laughed.

(I see. It's the usual demon princess instinct.)

　I agree.

"But,

　Kilt-san stared at the corpse of the demon lying at his feet.

''Even so, it was a stronger enemy than I thought. If this is the standard for demons in the Dark Continent, then it's pretty tough to proceed with the search.''
..........
..........
..........
..........

　I can't believe you have to go and talk like that to this Mr. Quilt.

(I knew it was the Dark Continent.)

　It doesn't look like it's going to be a simple matter.

　Mr. Kilt exhales.

'There can't be only this one demon, either. If there's another pack out there--

　That's when I said that.

　Hulul Supaan.

　A bright white magic flower bloomed in the sky.

　It was a luminescent signal round.

　The white light was a signal to call for help.

　No, it was not the only one that rose in the blue sky.

　Hurul, hurul, shpapaaaan.

　Two others.

　A total of three magical lights were shining in the blue sky.

　We stared at the sky, dumbfounded, as that light illuminated us.

'I knew it,'

　Mr. Kilt let out a breath.

　Then he tightened his grip on the Great Sword of Thunder and looked around at all of us.

That's it for today. We are now on a mission to rescue people from various places. All of you, be prepared and follow me!

　crunchy

　A strong voice that numbed me to the depths of my stomach.

　We gasped and then nodded.

　We watched it, and Kirt-san nodded back in satisfaction.

''Alright then, let's go!

　In order to save our companions from the threat of the demons, we first aim for the nearest luminous signal round.